Free Rangers Kids Who Can

About Free Rangers Kids Who Can

About us:


Give kids time to relax and be invigorated by nature.
Get your hands dirty outdoors in the fresh air.
Explore nature.
Learn bush skills.
Grow your own produce to cook over the campfire.
Care for animals.

What we do:

Our school term program is run at Turner, North Ainslie, Majura, and Aranda Primary Schools from 3pm to 6pm. We collect the children from school.

Our school holiday programs are run from The Friends Meeting House in Turner from 9am to 5pm.

At Free Rangers, kids have unstructured play in local nature reserves and bushland. We take our friendly dogs for walks through our urban green spaces and wonderful wetlands, taking time to enjoy the environment and stopping for picnics. We play, collect kindling, build cubbies and swings, hunt for tadpoles or whatever games our imaginations can dream up. The creations and solutions that materialise from our wood working and rope buckets never cease to amaze the Free Rangers team! We learn about our native plants and animals and our climate as we go. Parents are provided with a daily update for our walking locations.

In bad weather, or as our gardening, cooking and animal projects require, we will stay close to school or The Friends Meeting House. Here we plant veggie and flower gardens, watch them grow, harvest our produce, and cook over our campfire. We will learn what good soil looks like and how to compost effectively. Our term programs have visits from ponies, goats, lambs, or Pedro the python. We can be inside as needed but our aim is to rug up and brave the weather where practical. If you are busy and keep moving, the cold or rain can be invigorating and fun.

Having a go builds adaptability:

Everyone is very busy today, even our children. Technology brings us many wonderful advantages and easy conveniences. We run faster, jump higher and do more than ever before. The problem is that we can be left feeling exhausted and anxious by the rush. At Free Rangers: Kids Who Can we want to take the time to relax under a tree or to watch the clouds change. Walking, instead of being driven, gives us time to hear the birds and see the changing seasons.

Growing a tomato from seed and tasting how good it can be, brings back the simple pleasure of real food. Understanding how much it takes to produce food gives children a real appreciation of its value and of the role our planet plays in providing for us. For kids, food always tastes better if they cook it themselves and growing food encourages them to explore new tastes. Parents are often amazed at what kids will eat at Free Rangers. Fruit and veggies always taste better away from home!

It is healthy to dig! Learning to cook, garden and look after animals gives kids an enormous amount of satisfaction. These real-life skills bring a sense of achievement and confidence. Getting out and about in all-weather reminds us that we can do it and that we always feel better for it!

Having a go, rolling up your sleeves and getting messy is sometimes daunting at first, but it leaves kids feeling like they can tackle anything that comes their way. Being adaptable and finding their own solutions creates resilience. At Free Rangers: Kids Who Can children of various ages will work together, developing strategies for everything from protecting our vegies from pests to fairly sharing the pizza ingredients. At the end of the day, our Free Rangers complain when it's time to go home because they simply love being given free rein to explore, create and get really mucky!